True Romance
by onelildustbunni
Summary: AU. Follows the relationship of Laura Kinney and Julian Keller-college students at the Xavier university-from beginning to end...simultaneously!
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE: **True Romance  
><strong>STARRING: <strong>Hellion/X-23  
><strong>UNIVERSE: <strong>Totally AU  
><strong>RATING: <strong>M  
><strong>SUMMARY: <strong>Following the relationship of Laura Kinney and Julian Keller-college students at the Xavier university-from beginning to end...simultaneously!  
><strong>NOTE: <strong>Yes, yes it is named for the awesome Quentin Tarantino movie "True Romance"! How very astute of you.

* * *

><p><em><strong>True Romance<strong>_

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>NOW<strong>_

The theme of today seems to be misery, or so Laura thinks as she hurries across campus, her backpack straining against the load of books she's crammed it with. Her gait is a half-walk, half-run; her face is pale and anxious, as she grows closer and closer to the moment she will have to admit that she is going to be late for her Math exam. An automatic mark taken off, her Professor had warned the class.

_Cripes. _

She looks down at the ground and muscles her way through a group of girls that are chattering in high pitched voices. Maybe if she cuts through the library she will make it on time. She darts down the side path, ducks under the branches of a tree, and—

"_**OOPPH!" **_

_**THUNK!**_

For a moment, Laura doesn't say anything, too busy trying not to release the threatening tears. She rises from the ground, looks at the mess of books and notes around her on the worn grass…and then at the person whose legs she has just tripped over.

Her face pales, and she makes a movement to scramble to her feet, but he's too fast; he catches her wrist.

"Hey—I've been trying to—" he says. The look on his face is full of surprise, and hope.

"_**JULIAN!**__**" **_she snaps, as if it is an explicative. "Let me go!"

"We need to—"

"_**NO!**__**" **_she shouts in his face. People are looking now; after a moment, Julian releases her wrist, and she gets to her feet, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment.

"Laura, we _need_ to talk," he says quietly.

"There's nothing to talk about." She pauses. "Pick my stuff up so I can be on my way."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused."

Julian grits his teeth, his eyes narrowing, and his eyebrows drawing together, like they always do when he gets pissed. He hates it when people tell him what to do. Laura feels a vindictive pleasure flooding her veins, like adrenaline. It might just be worth losing those five marks to tardiness after all.

"Go on, pick it up," she orders.

"Why should I do _anything_ for you?" he asks, seething. "You don't even let me get a word in edgewise."

"There's nothing to say!" Laura's eyes flash. "Just get it through your head…I'm not stupid. We're over…done. There is _nothing_ left for you here."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid." Julian raises his eyebrows to emphasize this statement; _her_ eyes narrow.

"You fucked up so majorly that I don't even _think_ about you anymore." Laura tilts her head. "I'm much happier alone."

"Is that why you cry every day?" Julian demands viciously. She has a momentary urge to strangle him, to wipe the stupid, cocky look off his face. His arrogance and self-confidence has always irritated her, the fact that he can always turn any criticism about himself around. It fits that he's planning to be a lawyer.

"I don't!" she snaps, but it's quite obvious that she's lying, because she's never been that good of a liar. "Now, you're making me late for my exam. If you don't get out of my way, _I_ will give _you_ something to cry about!"

"Not making you stay." Julian folds his arms. "If you're late…that's your own fault. I'd suggest less moping and more studying."

"I'd suggest a lot of things to you," she retorts. "Now pick up my goddamn books!"

Julian glares at her for a moment, then he shoves the mound of notes, making it fly everywhere.

"Have fun," he says with a mean smirk.

"You're such a douchebag."

"So are you."

Laura hits the ground in exasperation. "I can't believe I ever gave you a second glance, you know that? What the hell did I ever _see_ in you? You're—"

**…**

_**TWO YEARS AGO  
>Freshmen party, Delta Chi Frathouse<br>Xavier University, NY**_

"—burning a hole in my forehead, the way you've been staring at me all night," Laura says, the corners of her bright-red lips tilted upward, and her thick eyelashes tilted down as she studies the guy in front of her.

"That would imply you've been staring right back," he says, casually. His eyes are warm, exciting; Laura senses a lack of fear and intimidation that she usually perceives in her would-be suitors. She feels as if she has issued him a challenge, and he has silently informed her that he is up to it.

"Well—" she pauses, and her smile widens, as she realizes she doesn't immediately have a snappy comeback. "I'll have to think on my response. The booze is making me a little lightheaded here."

"That's got to be it," he agrees grimly, although it's quite obvious that he's implying there is another reason.

"You're pretty full of yourself," she comments. "What are you here for?"

"To make social connections," he says. "Like you are, I'm assuming."

"I'm actually looking to get laid," she says boldly, hoping to shock him. "I just had a stressful exam period, and if I relax quick, I might avoid a case of zits."

"Interesting," he comments, as if they're discussing the weather. "Sex is usually more about the experience for me, although the endorphins are pretty great. Never thought about skin-clearing benefits." He pauses. "Mind if I use it in my sales pitch?"

Laura's nose wrinkles. "Sales pitch?"

"What?" he counters. "I'm just being honest. Everyone has a sales pitch. Getting partners is all about presenting yourself the best way possible, kid."

"I guess," she replies. "When I asked what you're here for, though, I meant in academic terms."

"Oh." He pauses. "Law school."

"Good," she says. "You're definitely the lawyer type."

"Lawyer type?"

"Covered in sixteen different layers of slime, and oozing arrogance." Laura grins at him sweetly, and to her surprise he gives her an answering smile, with no hint of offense or malice. The smile seems to spread from his eyes, relaxing his entire face; his scalp moves back slightly, as if it too is part of the smile.

"Then I'm bound to be successful, right?" he asks.

"I guess." She pauses. "My dad is a cop. He hates lawyers like…fuck, can't think of anything he hates more."

"Great," he says. "Do you have a good relationship with him?"

"Strained terms," Laura answers.

"Awesome," he says casually. "Think of how riled up he would get if he heard you're dating a lawyer."

"I'm not dating a lawyer," she answers, her nose wrinkling again.

"Sure you are," he says. "Me."

"You're not a lawyer," she points out.

"I will be," he says.

"Well, I'm not dating you anyway." Laura takes a sip of her martini. "I don't date. I have a career ahead of me…and I hate emotional gunk."

"What career would that be?" he asks.

"Medicine." She pauses. "I just finished the entrance exam…find out the result on Monday."

"Hey, I can be your lawyer then," he offers. "When you're a doctor, I mean."

"Stop trying to ask me out in a round about way," she orders.

He grins. "Go out with me on Friday?" he asks. "I'll make it memorable."

Laura pauses. "By doing what?"

"The activity will remain a mystery till that evening," he says easily. "If you want to find out what it is, you have to tell me where to pick you up…say seven o' clock?"

She bristles. "I just told you, I don't date."

"Don't call it that, then." He pauses. "Call it an event. Or an experiment. I don't care what it is, I just want to see you again."

She hesitates, her fingers playing on her glass. "No."

"How about I give you a trial run first?" he asks.

"Huh?" Her eyebrows draw together.

"Here." He reaches out, takes the glass from her fingers, and looks around, then sets it on a small side table. His hand wraps around hers, and it feels warm and strong. Laura looks down uncertainly, but as he pulls her closer, she lets her feet move.

She tingles as he leans in, slowly and deliberately; she suddenly realizes—as he begins to do things to just her mouth that she hadn't thought possible—that she is actually considering his offer.

**…**

_**NOW**_

"—the most arrogant, self-centered, egotistical prick that I've ever had the misfortune to know!" Laura finishes her tirade, her cheeks reddening with anger. Her green eyes sparkle with unshed tears. "You thought you could get away with that. The biggest insult about it all is that you thought I was _stupid, _that I would never figure it out. Well, I guess I was stupid, to ever go out with you!"

"Laura…this is all a misunderstanding." Julian says, after a moment. His face is guarded, probably concealing hurt at her sharp words. "You need to let me explain. It's not what you think—what you thought it was."

Laura trembles with rage at the thought that he's ignored what she's just said, acted like he can still pull a fast one on her. "You're insufferable. You're ruining my school, you know that?"

Now she gets a small reaction, other than the same useless script about them needing to talk. "What?" he asks, and there is a hint of worry in his voice.

"I failed three exams last term," she says, her voice strained. "With what happened…I couldn't concentrate…and then you kept bringing it all back up again…"

Julian reaches up, rubs his neck. "Did you talk to any advisors about it?"

"They won't care," she says. "This kind of shit makes no difference. My personal life isn't supposed to overshadow my education."

Julian is silent for a few moments. "I'm sorry," he says finally. "I didn't know. I wish you would've told me about that."

"I didn't want to talk to you." Laura glares at him. "I still don't want to talk to you."

"Well, _I_ want to talk to _you,_" he says. "Let me just say this. You were the most important thing in my life, and you still are."

They pause awkwardly.

"I'm losing marks by standing here," Laura says, ignoring what he's just said.

"Oh." Julian hesitates, then reaches over and begins picking up the scattered papers. After a few moments, he hands the somewhat straightened stack to her, most sheets none the worse for wear. "Get to it, then."

"Thanks," she says reluctantly. They remain for a moment, face-to-face, both kneeling on the grass and uncertain of what to say. The feelings they once had for each other linger in the air between them like a veil.

"Well, I'll see you later." Laura rises to her feet slowly.

Julian stays still for a moment.

"_**WAIT!**__**" **_he shouts, scrambling forward as she begins to turn away. "Look—I'm begging you here, literally on my knees…please, we need to talk more. I need to tell you what happened, I think I'll explode if I don't get the chance."

Laura stops. "Just say it, then."

"No." He pushes himself up. "It's too long. Can I walk you to your class?"

Laura considers, a little calmer now. He's been trying to get her to talk for months, and up until now she has had no inclination to do so, too filled with absolute rage to consider letting him fill the air with lies. "I need to think about my exam."

"Oh. Okay." He pauses. "How about later? Dinner?"

"Umm…" she thinks carefully, trying to come up with an excuse. "I'm really tight, just now. My loans are late again."

"On me," he says. He hesitates, then reaches out and touches her shoulder softly. "Laura…it's been four months…and I tried to stop thinking about you…I really did. I can't help what I feel. I really, really love you." A moment passes. "I don't think we're done."

"Umm…" Laura's tone is uneven.

"Please, come on."

"I can't," she says. "I have a date. There's this guy…umm…a cop…" she bites her lip.

Julian raises his eyebrow. "Where'd you meet him?"

"In Med school…" Laura winces.

"Right." He grins. "Tonight….seven o' clock?"

"I—oh, alright," Laura says. "But this is _**NOT **_a date, okay? And I don't want to spend my whole night arguing."

"I thought we could have dinner…talk…have make-up sex—"

"Right," Laura says, raising her eyebrow. "I think I'd snap it off if you pointed it toward me right now."

"Okay, okay. Not the latter." He hesitates, then leans forward and kisses her forehead. "Good luck on your test, kid."

"See you."

They part ways.


	2. Chapter 2

_****A/N: ****_Dear Liu: Fuck you. Love, onelildustbunni. PS: Happy holidays everyone!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>NOW<strong>_

Laura exhales slowly through her nose as she slips out of the door, her eyes closed. How she managed to write that exam, she'll never know for sure; it had been almost impossible to focus on anything else than the thought that tonight, at seven o' clock—sharp, since he is never late—she is going to be in Julian's presence, with no good excuses to get away.

_Relax, chill. We're just going to talk, _she tells herself, re-shouldering her back pack. She bites her lip automatically, and curses at herself. No, she won't be that easy; she can't be. Not in this situation, at least. She might have a casual viewpoint on sexual matters, but she also has her pride.

"_**LAAAAUURRRAAA!" **_a voice shrills in the distance, along with running footsteps.

She turns her head and sees a girl with a cloud of brilliantly red hair running to catch up. On her pretty, freckled and flushed face is a wide grin of honest pleasure at seeing her friend and roommate.

"Hey, Cess," Laura says.

"How'd it _go? _Oh my god, guess who I saw today. You'll never guess!"

"Julian?"

Cess looks crestfallen, then puzzled. "How the hell did you guess?"

"I saw him today too," Laura says.

"Oh my god! What happened? Did you guys talk?"

"Well, not really," the first girl says. She hesitates. "I had an exam. We're…we're meeting up for dinner later."

"_**OH. MY GOD!" **_Cess exclaims. "You guys are back together! I have so been rooting for this! Okay, so I'll see if Nori's free tonight…or Kev—"

"Whoa, whoa," Laura says, wrinkling her nose. "We are not _together. _We're just talking, okay? Like seeing what's going on in each other's lives. Just cause we broke up…doesn't mean I don't consider him a friend."

"Is he just your friend?"

Laura flushes. "No…but that's beside the point."

"You guys are such a cute couple," Cess says. "I really think you're wasting time, you know? If I were you, I'd get married already and start making babies."

"I just threw up in my mouth a little," Laura says, shuddering.

"Aww, c'mon!"

"I'd pity any child born to us."

"I wouldn't." Cess grins. "They'd have _me_ for an aunt, right? I'd drown that kid in presents, I swear to god."

"I believe you," Laura says, thinking of the gifts Cess has given her over the six months that they've been sharing an apartment. There couldn't be a nicer or more considerate roommate than Cessily Kincaid, who never brings guys home, is tidy but not overbearing, pays the rent and bills on time, and keeps her music at a reasonable level. In addition to the little presents all throughout each month.

"Okay, so what time do I have to be out of there?" Cess asks.

"No time. We're not going to, like, do it on the counter or anything," Laura says sarcastically.

**…**

_**TWO YEARS AGO **_

_**The Kitchen**_

_**Laura's and Cessily's apartment  
>Xavier University, NY<strong>_

"I can't believe we just…just…on the counter…" Laura brushes dark strands of hair out of her face, blowing air out through her mouth and trying to focus her half-lidded eyes, fighting the sting of sweat.

Her companion doesn't answer, except for breathing equally hard. He does nod, though; she can see the motion in the dark. She reaches up and presses her fingertips against his jaw; the skin is warm and damp, and beneath it, she feels his pulse. It's very fast and strong right now.

"That was…uh…" she says. For some reason, she feels the need to talk, to fill the intense silence with something light and conversational. To break this tension, as it's supposed to be broken by now.

"I liked it," she says, then kicks herself mentally. He grins at her; she can't see him in the dark, but she feels the skin she is touching move in an upward direction, and a dimple has formed under one finger.

"Hope so," he says. His voice is hoarse, like he's been shouting, but he hasn't. Her fingers slip down from his jaw to rest on his adam's apple. It moves slightly as he swallows; she also swallows. She's not used to the sensation that he seems to have awoken in her body, this strange connected feeling; as if little threads have branched out from under her skin onto his.

"Have you had a lot of practice?" she asks, suddenly curious, and aloof.

He doesn't answer, but he moves his hands higher up on her waist. Laura hesitates, then reaches down and brushes them away. "I'm hungry," she says. "Want something?"

"No thanks."

She gets off the counter, straightens her clothes slightly, and moves over to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she contemplates the contents for a moment, then turns to look at her companion, studying him in the dim fridge light.

"So…what should I call you?"

"Julian," he says, sticking out his tongue as he struggles to redo the buttons on his shirt. "I should have told you that earlier. You could have said that instead of 'Jesus' all the time…although I'm not complaining."

Laura wrinkles her nose. "But don't bother being modest or anything."

'Julian' pauses in his work on fastening the row of buttons, and gives her another grin. "Modesty is for people who are afraid of getting credit and being something," he says.

"You sure are _something_," she says. "Just not sure what that is yet. I'm deciding between a piece of shit and a catch."

His forehead wrinkles. "The latter, please," he says, looking serious.

"You don't get to choose." Laura ducks her head into the fridge, and after a moment's deliberation, emerges with a chocolate bar. She closes the appliance and returns to the counter, eyeing him nervously in the dark now. This isn't usual; her normal conquests involve flat-out drunkenness, a round in the sack, and then falling into a deep and dreamless sleep. By the next morning—even before she wakes up—the guy is gone, or she'll do the walk of shame. Sometimes she can escape without even seeing his face while sober.

Problem is, she's only tipsy right now. Her damned fast metabolism shrugged off the martinis while she was perusing the counter, and now she feels awkward. This guy is clearly sober too, and she isn't sure what comes now. She pictures them having a coffee, sitting primly at the dinner table her roommate—a crazy chick named Bernice—had insisted on. Maybe they could discuss the school?

She settles for peeling the wrapper off her chocolate bar and snapping off a piece, then popping it into her mouth.

"What's yours?" he asks casually.

"Wha?" She pauses, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Your name," Julian says.

"Oh." She blinks, swallows the chocolate. "It's…Bernice." Laura bites her lip slightly, something she always unconsciously does while telling a lie, no matter how big or small.

"That's a pretty name." He reaches out and touches her hair lightly, and she freezes, her eyes widening.

"Don't touch me," she says.

Julian raises his eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Just…don't." She narrows her eyes at him. "Let's get the rules down _right now. _You don't touch me, you don't call me, you don't remember me, okay? You forget you ever saw me. I'm not interested in anything else."

"Sure you are," he says, in what seems to be his usual contradictory way. It's almost irritating. Laura wrinkles her nose.

"No," she says firmly. "No interest here. This was a one-time deal."

"If you remember right…it was a trial run," he says.

"The answer to _that _ is no way in hell." She takes another bite of chocolate, her eyes fixed on the floor now.

"Why?"

Laura thinks for a moment. She's gotten herself into quite a ridiculous situation. After talking to a complete stranger, she'd taken him home and had had sex on her kitchen counter. And now she is having an argument with said stranger, in her kitchen. What if he's some kind of creep?

"I'm devoted to my career. I don't have time for relationships, and all that."

Julian raises his eyebrows again. "So you don't take any personal fun time?"

"No," she says, biting her lip. It's a well known fact that—although she is a hard worker—she is a party animal on the weekends, and very occasionally on weekdays.

"Okay…well…you said you like to get in a relaxing activity after exams…something about zits." He reaches out again and strokes her cheek. "You have beautiful skin…would be a pity to see it suffer. I'll take one for the team…how about we hook up after your next test?"

Laura pauses, feeling frustration. Can't he understand the word _no_?

"That's a bad idea," she says.

"Why?"

"I don't know," she says truthfully. "I just know what I want…and what I don't want. And I know right now I'm not looking for anyone."

"That sucks," he says, looking grim. "Well…here, I'll give you my number in case you change your mind, okay?"

Laura hesitates, then nods.

"D'you have anything to—" he makes a writing gesture, and she reaches over to the fridge door again, and picks up a dry erase pen. "Write it on the board there," she says, indicating a long board beside the cupboards.

"Thanks."

She watches as he begins to write numbers in a long and elegant style. When he finishes, he caps the pen and hands it back to her. "Guess I'll get going while the going's good," he says, giving her a confident look.

"Take care," Laura says.

"You too." Julian heads for the door, and she takes another bite of chocolate, thinking.

**…**

_**NOW**_

Laura looks in the mirror uncertainly, examining her reflection and trying to decide if she looks like she's made too much of an effort. After a moment, she decides she hasn't.

She squares her shoulders, gives herself a nod, then turns around and heads for the door, grabbing her purse on the way out, and locking the door behind herself. She ignores the logical voice in her head, telling her not to do this, to turn around and go watch a movie or something. To just forget it. She's not even done healing the hurt she'd sustained from their last attempt at a relationship; doesn't that mean she should at least wait until she's over it?

Problem is, she doubts she is going to just 'get over it'. Sure, she's fine from moment to moment; school is a great distraction. But there are times, usually at three AM, where she sits up in bed and looks into the darkness, shivering a little and acknowledging the emptiness. She didn't used to do that before she'd gotten into this whole mess.

She heads down the hallway, to the elevator, then down to the street. Her heart jumps a little when she sees a familiar figure leaning against a shiny, apple-red Porsche convertible. At the same moment, Julian catches sight of her and his forehead wrinkles.

"You look…" he starts.

Laura shrugs. "I didn't have much time…I'm lucky I didn't put lipstick round my eyes or something retarded."

He grins. "I'd still say you look hot…can't promise that's the last you'd hear about it though."

"So where are we going?" she asks, folding her arms and regarding him warily.

Julian plays with the car keys in his hand. "Uptown. Thought we could get Chinese food…I know a place."

"When don't you know a place," she comments, a little snidely.

He shrugs.

Laura hesitates. There's a question that she's almost bursting to ask him, but that would make her sound as if she's still interested. Which she firmly isn't, since he royally fucked her life up so much the first time around. So she refrains, instead giving him a tight smile, which he answers by opening the car door for her.

On the road, she watches him out of the corner of her eye, the way he drives, like he owns the entire road and just lets the other people use it. Secretly she's always liked this trait about him, but it can be irritating at times.

"How'd the exam go?" he asks about ten minutes later, breaking the thick silence.

"I don't know," she says truthfully.

"Do you have more tests coming up?"

She nods.

"Lots?"

"Four." She examines her black-painted nails. "You?"

"I finished mine for the term." He pauses. "Just a year to go now before I can take the bar."

"That must be exciting," She says.

Julian shrugs. They stop at a red light, and he turns his head slightly, to look at her. She can see a mixture of doubt and hurt in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth are tilted down. "I miss you," he says in a quiet voice that wavers slightly.

"That—um—well, you should have thought of that," she says.

"Laura, I told you…I didn't have a choice." His voice has a note of pleading to it. "It was nothing to me at all. There's no one for me but you, and I—"

"I don't understand why you can't just be like a normal person," Laura says coldly. "The reason we're not together anymore is you deceived me into thinking you had a pair. I'm not interested in being with someone so spineless."

"I wasn't being spineless!" Julian sounds a little angry. "Just diplomatic, alright?"

"You don't have to explain it to me anymore." She looks out the window.

"Yes, I do." The light changes, and he hits the gas pedal. "Nothing was or is more important to me than you. When I met you—I kept it up because I realized I wanted to give you a future that—"

"You were with another woman to give me a future?" Laura wrinkles her nose. "I guess even _you_ agree that you're awful, if you think you spared me by—"

Julian turns on the signals, and the car glides to the road shoulder.

"What—"

He turns in his seat again. "If I didn't do it, I'd get cut out of the will. I'd have lost a ten billion dollar inheritance. Doesn't that _mean_ anything to you?"

"No." She pauses. "Wait, it does. It means you care more about money than me."

"Dammit, Laura!" He looks exasperated. "_I_ don't want the money! I was rebelling against my parents…was going into a career they didn't like, at a school they thought was substandard. And then I met you—I almost cut it off then—but I started thinking that you'll need a way to pay off the hundreds of thousands of dollar school debt you'll have when you finish—"

"Oh my god. Don't even." Laura closes her eyes. "My finances are _my_ problem, okay? See, this is why I never wanted a relationship in the first place! Everything gets so messed up, and—"

"You can't just avoid it," he says. "It happens whether you want it or not. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now, you who spend so much time studying the human body."

"Huh?" She gives him a confused look.

"You can't control love." He pauses. "You can try to explain it away as a bunch of electrical impulses in the brain…but you can't control those impulses. You do yourself more harm by trying to fight something so natural."

Laura looks down. "Not fighting those feelings is something I regret now."

**…**

_**TWO YEARS AGO **_

_**On Campus  
>Xavier University, NY<strong>_

"Bernice!"

At first, Laura doesn't turn around, not realizing that the name is referring to her, until the hand claps down on her shoulder. She stiffens as her body instantly recognizes his touch, even through the layer of her jacket.

"Excuse me?" she asks, giving the guy from two weeks ago a wary glance. He doesn't look half bad in daylight; actually, he's kind of cute, with hair as dark as hers, an open, boyish face, and faded blue eyes that make him look very innocent.

"Don't remember?" he counters.

"No." She bites her lip slightly. _Dammit. _It was such an easy lie, too.

Julian grins. "Heading to an exam?"

She bites her lip harder. "No." _DAMMIT!_

"Doing anything tonight?" he asks.

"Studying." She looks down. "Look—my answer still hasn't changed."

"So you _do_ remember."

Laura grits her teeth. "Yes."

His smile widens. "If you remember me…I must have made an impression. I'm hoping it's a favorable one."

Her nose wrinkles, as she struggles not to bite her lip. "It's not."

"Oh." Julian shrugs. "Well, want to go see a movie?"

"What did I just say?"

"Maybe it's not a date," he says. "Can't we just be two people going to see the same movie? I think it's lame to go to the theatre alone, you see."

Laura pauses. This logic is infallible to her, even though she knows his real purpose. She struggles for a moment; she kind of _wants_ to spend time with him. The problem is, she's made a concrete, ironclad promise to herself to not get involved in relationships. Ever again, that is, since her first had turned into such a qualifying, embarrassing disaster that had destroyed her life for months afterward. Why repeat that hell?

"Come on," he says. "I'll buy you popcorn."

"Um," she says, indecisively. She _loves _popcorn. "Caramel?" she asks tentatively.

"Yep."

"Fine," she says, wrinkling her nose again. "What movie?"

"_Inglorius Basterds_," he says. "I'm a Tarantino fan."

"So am I," she says hesitantly.

Julian looks like he's just discovered a gold nugget. "Really? What's your favorite?"

"I'm between _Pulp Fiction_ and _Reservoir Dogs_," she says.

"Interesting," he says. "I'd have thought you'd pick _True Romance._ Not a love story kind of person?"

"I don't believe in love," Laura says coldly.

"Really?" He raises his eyebrows.

"What we call _love _is just a cluster of nerve ganglia in the brain, engaging in electric impulses that cause sensations."

"You've never been in love?"

Laura pauses. "No." She bites her lip. _God dammit!_

"You're lying," he observes.

_Shit, _she thinks. She knows about her nervous habit, and tries to suppress it, so that she can get away with necessary lies. She has really tried to be careful around him, since he seems to be very good at reading body language, and to top it off, he's studying to be a lawyer, someone who reaps upon the ability to do just this.

"I don't want to talk about this," she says. "If you press me, I won't go to the movie with you."

"Okay." He pauses. "I'd be surprised, though, if no one had ever loved you. I mean…you're very lovable, you know."

Laura flushes slightly, embarrassed. "Um, thanks, I think," she says awkwardly.

"You're welcome." He grins lopsidedly. "So, say I pick you up at eight?"

"Tonight?" she asks, her eyes widening.

"I've been waiting to see this for a while," he says.

"Oh…" Laura thinks carefully. "Okay, but I need time to change and eat something…I have an exam that ends at seven."

"I'll take you to dinner," he says, a little eagerly.

"No, that's—"

"Please, let me. If you feel weird about going out as friends, you can treat me next time, okay?"

"There's a next time?" Laura asks suspiciously.

"Er—" he grins at his mistake. "If I make a suitable movie-watching companion, I hope so. I promise I won't talk or anything during it."

She raises her eyebrows, but just then she remembers her exam. "Oh shit! I have to go!"

"Oops," he says. "Okay, I'll pick you up at eight fifteen then. You still have my number?"

"Yes," Laura says. She'd programmed it into her phone the night after they'd met, thinking it might come in handy someday, but strictly in a non-dating sense.

"Call me when you're ready, okay?"

"Fine." She waves at him and rushes off, turning her mind to her exam. She doesn't notice the way he watches after her with a longing expression.


	3. Chapter 3

****__**ANNOUNCEMENT: **_Two new stories-_Like a Boss: Tainted Love_ and _We're in This Together Now, _along with the update wave! Enjoy! :o)_****

**_A/N: _**Thanks for the reviews! :o)

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>NOW<strong>_

"What exactly do you regret about it?" Julian asks quietly.

Only four words to the question, and yet it covers so much ground; Laura struggles for a moment, uncertain of how to answer. She looks at her hands, studies the chipped polish.

"I regret letting you under my skin like that," she says softly. "I made myself vulnerable. For a med student, I can sure be stupid sometimes."

"You aren't," he says.

"I am." Laura's eyebrows draw together. "Like once wasn't enough to teach me how bad it can be when it goes…well, bad."

"Not everything's going to be like that."

"Experience has taught me otherwise."

"Laura…" he rubs his eyes. "We didn't 'go bad'. We just had a…misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Laura turns to look at him, her eyes wide in an incredulous glare. "A misunderstanding would be me catching you talking to another girl, and thinking you're cheating. This was so far past that. _And _you had the audacity to do it to my face and expect me to—"

"For fucks' sake, you haven't heard a single thing I've said!" Julian fumes, pounding his fist on the steering wheel.

"You _live_ with that girl_._"

"I have absolutely no feelings for her."

"That's rich." Laura smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

For a moment, he takes a calming breath. "Let's go to dinner. We'll talk. I want you to hear my side…without being interrupted. It's only fair, since I'm innocent of a whole bunch of shit you're trying to pin on me."

"Trying to pin on you?" She shakes her head in exasperation. "This was a bad idea. A really bad idea. I want to go home—take me home."

Julian tilts back his head. "No. We need to _talk._ I'm tired of feeling like I'm full of poison, because there's so much I need to say to you."

**…**

_**TWO YEARS AGO **_

_**Laura's Apartment  
>Xavier University, NY<strong>_

After about a half hour of quickly throwing on light make up and a change of clothes, Laura approaches her cell phone with trepidation. Is she really going to do this? It would be easy to just crawl into bed and sleep, stand him up.

Her fingers are pressing the _Contacts _button, as if guided by some hidden part of her brain that is beyond her control. She scrolls through the list and finds _Julian_, pausing for a moment to think how odd it is that she's managed to remember his name so easily. She's usually terrible with names; all her memory seems to be used up for her studies.

She hesitates, then taps the _Call _button on the touch screen, and raises the phone to her ear. She hears it ring twice, and then a _click, _as the line connects.

There is silence for a moment.

"Um, hello?" Laura asks tentatively.

"Who is this?" Julian asks, sounding a little guarded. "My Caller ID says Laura K, and I don't know any _Laura's_…"

"Uhh…" she says, a little confused. "We had a date—er, I mean, that movie thing…"

Silence.

"Well, I didn't really think that name fit you anyways."

"Huh?"

"You said your name was Bernice, remember?"

Laura closes her eyes in exasperation. "Son of a _bitch!_" she says, annoyed with her own absentmindedness.

For a moment, he doesn't answer; when he does, he sounds amused. "You just keep getting more interesting."

"Shut up. Where should I meet you?"

"I can pick you up at your place, if you want."

Laura hesitates. "I don't feel comfortable bringing you to where I live," she says.

"Shouldn't have fucked me in your kitchen, then," he comments, still sounding amused.

"Oh my _god,_" she groans, as she remembers. "Did I give you my banking info too?"

"There was a point during that night where you passed me your wallet, but I was a gentleman and didn't peek," he says. She knows he's almost laughing outright.

"Shut the _fuck_ up!" She is thoroughly pissed.

"You asked me, kid."

"Just meet me outside then."

"Okay."

Fifteen minutes later, she spots something she's never seen on her street before: a shiny, apple-red Porsche convertible, and Julian, twirling a set of keys around his finger as he leans against the end of the car.

She stops on the stairs of her apartment, her eyes fixed on the vehicle.

"Over here!" Julian calls.

"I noticed," she says. "What the hell is that?"

"My car," he says, nonchalantly, but she can tell he's pleased with her reaction. "Like it?"

"Possibly," she replies, now descending the stairs and heading towards him, her eyes still on the Porsche. "That's got to be expensive. I didn't know you were—"

"Loaded?"

She wrinkles her nose. "That's not necessarily a good quality, you know. It means you're selfish and arrogant."

"Do I seem selfish and arrogant?" he asks, his eyebrows raised.

"Well…" she considers.

"I'll let you decide over the dinner I'm going to pay for," he says, grinning.

Laura glares at him. "This isn't a date, remember?"

"Yep, I got it." His expression sobers and he gives her a nod, but she knows, just _knows_, that he's only humoring her. She makes her feelings on the matter known by glaring sternly at him.

"Here." He reaches over and opens the passenger side door with a flourish. "Have a seat, buddy."

She rolls her eyes and gets into the car.

**…**

_**NOW**_

About a minute of silence passes between them.

Laura takes a deep breath. "Okay," she says, nodding.

"What?" Julian opens his eyes, turns his head slightly.

"Okay. Take me to dinner. Explain." She pauses. "I can't promise I'll buy into it. You really, really hurt me…and I don't know if it's something I can just forgive and forget, you know?"

"Okay," he says. He hesitates. "I know you don't want to hear it…but I love you," he says. "I never stopped. I—I think it got stronger, when I lost you."

Laura says nothing. She looks out the window; Julian starts the car and takes them back onto the road. When she finally glances at him again, she sees that his fingers are gripping the wheel so tightly that his knuckles are white, and that his mouth is pressed together into a line, while his eyes flicker over the oncoming landscape. His brow is wrinkled slightly, in concentration. _No._ She knows this look; she's seen him wear it many times before. It's determination.

**…**

_**TWO YEARS AGO **_

_**Saigon Cafe  
>New York City<strong>_

"So, _Laura,_" Julian says, grinning as he puts extra emphasis on her name. He is sitting across from her, leaning back casually in his booth seat with arms spread at either side, and his elbows dangling over the back of the bench. He seems very relaxed.

She gives him a distinctly unimpressed look; he seems even more pleased. "What does the K stand for?"

"Excuse me?" she asks.

"The K in your name."

"Kennedy," she says.

"Your last name is 'Kennedy'?" he asks. "Any relation to—"

"No, my dad was a Kennedy supporter." Laura pauses. "That's my middle name, actually."

"I meant your surname."

"Kinney," she says. "My mother's name."

"Your parents weren't married?"

"They were, but my mother was a mildly famous geneticist when she and my father met," Laura says. "It might have caused some professional confusion if she had changed surnames in mid-practice."

"Oh, I see," he says. "Why don't you use your dad's name?"

"Well, we're not especially close," Laura says. "I'm also hoping my name will bring some benefits when I'm looking for jobs."

"I see," Julian says again, nodding slightly.

"So, what's your last name?" she asks, to be polite.

He grins. "Do you really want to know?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Keller."

Laura stares at him. The Porsche suddenly makes sense, as well as his deeming Xavier's a 'sub-standard' school, when it was ranked only a little lower than some of the other Ivy League educational institutions.

"Oh," she says, uncertainly. "What—why—but you're a billionaire…don't you need a body guard or something?"

"Most people don't recognize me, as you just proved," he says, with a slight shrug. "I don't tell a lot of people…I have a fake ID if I need it…but I trust you."

"Oh, _shit,_" she says. "I don't like keeping secrets."

"It's not a secret, kid," he says. "By all means…brag to your friends that you're _dating_ me. Nothing would make me happier."

"But we're not," she says. "And if it's not a secret, then why do you trust me?"

"I meant, I don't think you're going to try kidnapping me." He pauses. "I'd kind of like it if you did, actually. It would be really hot."

"Oh my god." Laura covers her face with her hands. "I hate you."

She peaks through her fingers, and sees that he looks pleased. "Did you even hear me?" she asks, annoyed.

"When girls say they hate you, they mean the opposite," he says. "Unless you just like, killed their entire family or something."

Laura feels herself smile, despite her irritation. "You're certainly persistent."

"Well, I'm practicing to be a lawyer," he says seriously. "I can't let myself be intimidated…even though you are terrifying to approach."

"I am?" She asks, raising her eyebrows. He nods, his eyes held wide open.

"At that party…there were like five guys standing in the corner talking about you and trying to scrape up enough balls between them to ask you out. I overheard…and I like a challenge…so I went over to check you out, and I swear, I almost couldn't do it. I had to do, like, three shots of Tequila first."

"What?" Laura sounds alarmed. "Was I scowling or something?"

"No, you were talking with other people, and laughing," he says. "You were just so beautiful and…well, alive…just about everyone knew you had to be taken already…and us guys were just figuring out how to convince you we were a better choice."

"Oh," she says. She doesn't know how to respond to this; after a few moments, she flushes slowly, and looks down at her menu.

"I couldn't believe you weren't already with someone," he continues. "I thought I had somehow managed to get myself plastered. I only really believed it when I ran into you today…I think I walked home on clouds."

She smiles slightly.

"So if you're such a big flatterer…why aren't you with someone already?"

For a moment, Julian reacts oddly to this question. Later on, she realizes that she should have seen it then; but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. His forehead wrinkles.

"Well…it's hard to find someone who really likes you for _you _when money's involved, you know?"

"Oh," Laura says. "That's kind of stupid."

"Mmm." Julian leans his cheek on his hand, his eyes still on hers. "You don't care about money, do you?"

"Just when I'm scraping up the rent," she says. "I always have _my_ share on time, but my roommate is pretty awful."

"Roommate?" he asks.

"Bernice," Laura says.

"There's that name again," he grins.

"Oh my god, just drop it. I…I didn't want you to look me up. Back then I didn't think I was ever going to see you again."

"What made you change your mind?" he asks.

"I don't know," she says truthfully. They exchange a smile, and just then the waitress arrives at their table.

After their orders are placed, they sit in silence for a few moments, trying to think of a topic for conversation.

"So…I know you like Tarantino movies…and martinis…but you're really a mystery to me, kid," he says. "You don't seem to fit any of the typical molds that most of these college girls come from."

"Don't _stereotype_ people," she says, wrinkling her nose.

"You mean, you changed your mind about me being selfish and arrogant?"

Laura flushes. "Fuck you," she says, embarrassed.

He grins. "Please. It's been a bit of a dry spell."

"Right," she replies, obviously not believing him.

"Well…" he pauses. "In all seriousness, that night kind of blew my mind. I don't think my body is aware that there are other females on the planet anymore."

She wrinkles her nose again. "Really?"

"Honest to God," he says.

"I don't believe in God," Laura says coldly.

Julian pauses. "Neither do I," he says. "But unlike you, I didn't have a personally shattering experience to make me that way. I've just seen too much suffering to believe in any sort of deity anymore…so it was more gradual."

"What—" she stops, eyes him. "Do you know something about me?"

"No," he says. "I just noticed how you kind of tensed up. You don't do that if it's not something that reaches deep. Did you lose someone?"

"My mother," Laura says, in a kind of whisper. "Four years ago…she stopped to help a stranger on the side of the road. He robbed her, raped her…stabbed her to death…and took her car."

Julian doesn't say anything, just watches her, and she finds herself thinking that it's nice, not to receive a contrived response, being reminded that the pain is only her own, and that no one else will ever help her shoulder the burden.

"Did they catch the guy?" he asks.

"No," Laura says. "They never did." She pauses. "When it happened…I was only seventeen." She pauses, smiles slightly, in a self-mocking manner. "I thought I was going to go out and catch him. Thank god my dad caught me in time."

Julian considers her. "I agree." He pauses. "Your future is too bright to spend in jail."

"You think I could've done it?" she asks, surprised.

"That's not the question here," he replies. "You're smart…you're clever, and you're not afraid. I have no doubt that if you wanted to kill someone, you could. You'd get away with it, too. But…you have an honest heart…so you're a bad liar." He pauses. "And you want to be a doctor…you want to be a healer. You'd feel so guilty at ending a life that you would beg the law to punish you."

Laura is frozen, and speechless. He's just analyzed her perfectly, in words she'd never be able to put together herself. She's never felt so understood by another human being in her life, her who has often felt she must be an alien or something due to her lack of intimate connections. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.

"So you're not religious," he says. "What else is there to you? What do you do for fun?"

"I…" she clears her throat. "I don't have much fun time, actually. Believe it or not…the rumors are true. Med school is _hard._"

Julian grins. "You don't say. I couldn't imagine having to remember bones and organs and…well, all that crap. I'm lucky I know the brain bone's connected to the neck…"

Laura smiles back. "Well…now that I think of it…I used to like dancing, in high school. And gymnastics. I was—if you'll believe this—I was a cheerleader."

He stops, his eyes going wide. "What?" he asks, his voice wavering.

She nods. "I supported the Football team, even though they were a bunch of jerks. I—" she flushes in shame. "I don't know if I can talk about this in detail yet…but I had a really messy relationship with the lead quarterback…let's just say that's why I don't believe in dating anymore."

"Do you have this guy's address?" Julian asks, out of the blue.

"Huh?" she asks, confused.

"I'm going to go pound his lights out," he says, a hint of anger in his tone. "What a stupid piece of shit. He ruined it for the rest of us deserving guys…"

Laura raises her eyebrows. "You count yourself as deserving?"

"I think I deserve something," he answers. "Don't know what I deserve, though. Probably a smack upside the head for not playing football…I would've met you sooner."

"Shut up." She doesn't look angry though.

Julian hesitates. "Do you…uh…still have your outfit?" he asks.

She raises her eyebrows again. "Yes, but I don't _wear_ it. It's a little tight now."

"Oh my god." He pauses. "Can I run to the bathroom quick?" he asks. She reaches over the table and smacks him lightly; he reaches up and catches her hand, pressing it against his cheek, and the moment of 'setting him in his place' turns into something else entirely. She can feel his pulse beating in his cheek, lightly, and his fingers are warm and familiar; for a moment their eyes lock, and she feels the blood rush to her face. For a moment she thinks they are going to forget they are in a restaurant and use the table for a purpose other than eating.

"Here you are," the waitress says, breaking the moment by setting an empty plate down on the said table, in front of Laura. She jerks back her hand like she's been burned, and looks up at the server with a grateful smile as she places the various dishes of food on the table.

"Thank you," she says.

"You're welcome." The waitress hands Julian a plate, then nods to them both and leaves to wait on the next table.

"I'm not really hungry anymore," he says, in a hollow voice. "Well, not for food. Want to just drive somewhere and park?"

"This isn't a date, remember?" Laura says, picking up her chopsticks. "You said we're just two friends going to see a movie."

He makes a slight groaning noise. "You can't be serious…I have to sit through a film first?"

"What do you mean, 'first'?" she asks, as she picks up a piece of broccoli.

"I—" Julian looks at his plate, picks up his chopsticks. "Alright. No worries. Sorry if I made assumptions."

"It's fine," Laura says.

She later recognizes the expression on his face—wrinkled brow, narrowed eyes, his lips pressed firmly together—to be one of determination.


End file.
